[ayaghmour2]

The Cougars picked 2nd in each of the 25 rounds, however, not all of the picks were made live. I will only give input on the players I actually selected.

1st Round, 2nd Overall: SP Mike Murphy
Alma Mater: Brooklyn State Bears
A lefty from Brooklyn State, Mike Murphy was not the guy I wanted to draft. That would have been Tommy Wilcox. But I wanted a pitcher, and I went with a "safe" pick in the college arm of Murphy. With the Bears, he went 14-13 with a 2.48 ERA (179 ERA+) and 1.17 WHIP with 274 strikeouts and 54 walks in 257.1 innings pitched in his three collegiate seasons. If it wasn't for back spasms his sophomore year, Muprhy would likely have had every single pitching record at Brooklyn State. He totaled ten 10 strikeout games and helped lead the Bears to a playoff appearance in his two full seasons. He'll start the season with the Legislators, but he's definitely on the fast track to the majors.

2nd Round, 18th Overall: SP Ike Quinn
Alma Mater: Somerville HS Generals
He sprained his elbow early in minor league camp, and likely won't pitch for the Class C LaCrosse Lions until May, but the 18-year-old has tremendous upside. A dominate senior season saw him go 5-4 with a 1.76 ERA (255 ERA+), 1.03 WHIP, and 126 strikeouts in 102.1 innings. He's a flyabll pitcher who doesn't throw very hard, but he stands at 6'4'' and can easily pickup velocity as he gets older. He has a nice four pitch arsenal and he use his offspeed pitches to rack up strikeouts. He's a high risk high reward pick, but if he can stay healthy I like his chances of pitching in a big league rotation.

3rd Round, 34th Overall: SP Johnny Walker
Alma Mater: Berkeley Bears
Berkeley has been almost a farm club for our system, producing pitchers such as Dean Astle, Art Black, and now Johnny Walker. He was dominant on the mound and at bat as a senior, going 3-4 with a 2.59 ERA (168 ERA+), 1.13 WHIP, and 136 strikeouts in 83.1 innings while hitting .410/.425/.410 (135 OPS+) in 40 plate appearances. His fastball sits in the low 90s and the lefty has a nice curve and change to go with it. He's done excellent in minor league camp, going 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA (213 ERA+), 1.17 WHIP, and 18 strikeouts in 24 innings. He seems to be further along then Quinn and he can be a top strikeout pitcher in the majors.

4th Round, 50th Overall: CF Buck Waldrop
Alma Mater: Hartford HS Blue Sox
After a trio of pitchers, I grabbed the improving defender in Buck Waldrop. As a senior, he hit .378/.446/.718 (210 OPS+) with 10 homers and 39 RBI's to go with a +3.1 ZR in center. He's got a ton of pop and great range, but he doesn't project to be a contact hitter. While still raw, Waldrop brings a nice change of pace to our current group as he offers the potential to hit 15-20 homers without having to sacrifice much defensively.

5th Round, 66th Overall: SS Larry Burns
Alma Mater: Brunswick Knights
Back to the college level as I went with a glove first shortstop. He's got a great arm and soft hands with solid foot speed. He did hit .405/.488/.544 (203 OPS+) as a senior, but this is not really the type of player he is. The 5.6 ZR+ he put up was extremely impressive as well, and that number has gotten better each season he was in college. He's done excellent in the Spring, however, hitting .358/.476/.403 in 86 plate appearances with the Lions.

6th Round, 82nd Overall: 1B Charlie Steele
Alma Mater: St. Pancras Lions
I generally avoid drafting first basemen, especially this high, but in a weak offensive class there wasn't a bat better then Charlie Steele. He only played his sophomore and junior seasons, but the righty slugger hit .375/.454/.667 (192 OPS+) with 26 homers and 76 RBI's in 421 plate appearances. He's actually a pretty decent defender at first too. He'll start his professional career in Class B San Jose and could progress up the ladder pretty quickly.

7th Round, 98th Overall: SP Lynn Albright
Alma Mater: Cumberland Explorers
I thought I was drafting Pat Albright. I was wrong. Pat was taken by the Gothams in the 2nd Round. Nothing to see here with Lynn...
Well, at least he's from Illinois...

8th Round, 114th Overall: CF Joe McPherson
Alma Mater: Cambridge HS Colonials
It was a down year at the plate for McPherson, but his career .322/.390/.434 line isn't too terrible and he's a solid defender out in center. He's got great speed and can actually play a littler bit of catcher too. I plan on getting him some reps in right field with the Lions as Waldrop has priority in center.

9th Round, 130th Overall: RP Herb Plummer
Alma Mater: Brooklyn State Bears
A teammate of 2nd Overall Pick Mike Murphy, the lefty bullpen arm rebounded from a rough sophomore season and went 10-2 with a 2.85 ERA (145 ERA+), 1.14 WHIP, and 97 strikeouts in 72.2 innings which is much more in line with his freshman year numbers. He's a sidearmer who throws a 90-92 MPH fastball with a curve and change. He'll head to San Jose to begin his professional career.

10th Round, 146th Overall: 2B Ed Thompson
Alma Mater: San Antonio HS Warriors
A teammate of last year's 6th Round pick and 57th Overall Prospect George DeForest, Ed Thompson had an excellent senior season that saw him hit .354/.408/.571 with 9 homers and 25 RBI's. He's not a no glove second basemen either, as he managed an impressive +5.6 ZR. He's got decent power and my scout is actually a big fan of his.

11th Round, 162nd Overall: SP Jim Dyer
Alma Mater: Liberty College Bells
Our scouts found Dyer when we were scouting his teammate and #1 overall pick Tommy Wilcox. The righty was definitely overshadowed, and after ERA+ of 157 and 158 his first two seasons, it fell down to 116 once he became draft eligible. He went 4-6 with a 3.47 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 87 strikeouts in 80.1 innings pitched. He's a flyball pitcher who throws in the mid 90s, but despite his three pitch mix, we plan to use him out of the bullpen, at least at first.

13th Round, 194th Overall: C Billy Wiseman
Alma Mater: Elmira HS Emeralds
Our twelfth round pick was also a catcher, C Doc Hinman, but he decided that he did not want to sign and instead enrolled at Wisconsin State. Wiseman then became the first catcher to join the team in this class and my scout thinks he might be a steal. He has great homer run potential and is expected to develop into a sure-handed and reliable catcher. The bat fell off his senior year, as he hit just .256/.322/.403 (99 OPS+) after far above average showings in the years prior. He's just 18, and has a lot of room to grow into a solid FABL starter.

14th Round, 210th Overall: SP Sam Bigras
Alma Mater: Indiana A&M Reapers
The last pick I made was the righty Sam Bigras. His junior year was the best of his college career as he finally secured a more full time rotation spot. He went 5-6 with a 2.70 ERA (149 ERA+), 1.13 WHIP, and 93 strikeouts in 110 innings pitched. He's actually set to start the season in San Jose and work out of the rotation for the Cougars. He sits around 90 MPH with his fastball, the best of his four pitches.

The rest of the picks are as follows:
15th Round: RP Eddie Simpson (released, no statistics)
16th Round: 3B Gordon Stroud
17th Round: C Tex Young
18th Round: 2B Billy Morgan
19th Round: 3B Sam Crum
20th Round: RF Curt Jeffery (released, 1-for-18 in HS, signed with AAA independent team Syracuse Excelsiors where they want him to start in RF...)
21st Round: RP Dick Brown
22nd Round: SS Tom Shaw
23rd Round: LF Jim Peterson (released, no statistics, signed with AA independent team San Antonio Gunslingers)
24th Round: 3B John Johnson
25th Round: SP Bud Butler (released, awful in his only college games in 1926, signed with the A independent team Terre Haute Brewers who plan to make him their ace. They actually play in the same league as the Lincoln Legislators so I can't wait to hit homer after homer off him)